A few years ago, my oldest son was appalled to learn that after 15 years of practice, I was making the same salary as more junior male surgeons who had significantly less experience.

As I thought about his reaction, I realized that I was a part of the problem. I had administrative accomplishments, financial impact, and “Top Doc” peer ratings, but I had to take a harder look at my own expectations and what I was signaling. Continue Reading

But when it comes to managers, those mistakes can result in derailment, said Carter Cast ’92, a clinical associate professor of innovation and entrepreneurship at Kellogg.

“What is derailment?” said Cast. “It occurs when a manager [who] is expected to go higher plateaus, is fired or demoted and doesn’t achieve the expected level of achievement.”

Cast, the former CEO and President of Walmart.com, further delved into career derailment and ways managers can prevent it as part of the Kellogg Insight Live Faculty Sessions held this past May at Reunion 2015.

Cesare Mainardi spoke about lessons learned at Kellogg and shared lifelong career advice at the 2015 Executive MBA Commencement.

Cesare Mainardi ’86, CEO of Strategy& (formerly Booz & Company) presented the keynote address at the Executive MBA Commencement on June 13, 2015. Read his full address below, learn more about his Kellogg journey in an exclusive interview. or relive the excitement in the EMBA Commencement Storify.

Let me add my own congratulations to the EMBA graduates of June 2015.

You have accomplished the extraordinary:

managing a demanding workload at your job…

…while dealing with pressing family obligations…

…all while meeting the academic requirements of the world’s best business school.

I commend you. I especially salute—as Sally did—the unsung heroes in the audience—the husbands and wives, parents and children and bosses and employees—who made this day possible. Continue Reading

For a woman seeking to get a leg up on the competition, an executive MBA program can provide the momentum needed to move from capable manager to C-level leader. Not only does an EMBA refine existing skill sets and grow new abilities, it leads to greater confidence and a higher aptitude for leading teams.

We asked female executives in our Executive MBA Program to share their career and leadership advice.Continue Reading

Madukar Manpuria, co-founder of MyNewCar.in, on his graduation day from the Kellogg-WHU Otto Bersheim Executive MBA Program.

Regardless of industry or career goals, getting an MBA serves up one universal benefit for students: momentum. For Madhukar Manpuria, Jürgen Thom and Christoph Behrendt, the momentum they found from the Kellogg-WHU Otto Beisheim Executive MBA Program encouraged them to finally follow their entrepreneurial aspirations and launch a new business. Continue Reading

Minerva Capital Group Founder and CEO Jocelyn Cortez-Young ’07 understands what it takes to drive and change a market at the same time.

Cortez-Young focuses on investments that serve a dual purpose: to activate social change in Latin America and to turn a profit. With a focus on innovation in small– to medium–sized companies, she seeks to rectify the gender parity through smart investing.

While studying at Kellogg, Cortez had ample opportunity to broaden her network and experience other cultures. Taking courses in the Kellogg Executive MBA Global Network allowed her to better understand some of the markets in which she would later invest, as well as make connections with peers from across the world.

“Kellogg has been a tremendous part of my professional growth and my personal growth,” Cortez-Young said.

Sales need to be able to happen wherever business happens, Mark Ricard EMP 100 realized. He’s been reaping the rewards ever since.

When Ricard first started as Pampered Chef’s director of eCommerce, he was put in charge of a flawed, desktop-based system that served more than tens of thousands of sales consultants and their customers.

“I knew right away that we needed to provide a mobile solution for our sales consultants,” Ricard said. “Rather than having them lug around their laptops, a tablet-ready app makes it possible for them to sell wherever they go, and makes them appear more polished.” However, a challenge for Ricard was the app had to work offline. “Because our consultants can sometimes be in remote areas with poor internet, the app needed to take an order even without a connection.” Continue Reading